Challenges and Opportunities of New Zealand’s Ageing Workforce

OCG recently presented at the Commission for Financial Capability’s ‘Ageing Workforce Forum’. Click here for OCG and Chandler Macleod GM, Greg McAllister’s insights on New Zealand’s ageing workforce, and how businesses must prepare.

We were delighted to be involved with this week’s Ageing
Workforce Forum, put together by the Commission for Financial Capability. The
event was held to further the discussion of the implications associated with an
ageing workforce in New Zealand, and how these challenges and opportunities
will be met.

I presented some of our findings from our recent reports and
whitepapers and explored the challenge from a practical perspective.

We have undertaken a number of research efforts to
understand how New Zealand businesses can best utilise the talent available to
them. We found that older, or mature, workers represent an untapped resource
for many businesses, and their contribution is only going to become more
important as the demographics of our workforce change.

Work completed by OCG Consulting clearly identified the
growing population of over 50 workers as being an emerging and critical
component of the workplace.

In 40 years’ time, a quarter of our population will be over
65. Of the employers we surveyed, 59% agree that there is a shortage of highly
experienced workers in their industry. However,
44% of those employers did not believe the aging workforce presented a future
challenge to their industry. Despite the increasing age of the workforce,
alarmingly only 10% of organisations said they were addressing talent shortages
by recruiting older workers.

My observation is there is an increasing pool of 50, 60, and
in some cases 70 year olds, who want to work but find it difficult to connect
with potential employers.

We completed research in conjunction with the Human Rights
Commission and The Office for Senior Citizens. In this we explored many misconceptions
around mature workers; what drives them, how they fit into today’s workforce
and looked to review a number of myths around them. For instance, they are less
productive, can’t cope in a crisis, struggle with technology, are less
motivated and don’t really need to work.

Responses to our research actually showed most job seekers
and employers believe the opposite of these to be true.

- 59% of job seekers and 61% of employers believed
that older workers were better in a crisis.

- 81% of older workers preferring a challenging
and rewarding role instead of an easy transition into retirement.

- Only 10% of older workers stated they have no
financial need for work.

Technology literacy did stand out as a potential area to be
addressed. 52% of employers and 43% of
job seekers agreed with the notion that older workers struggle with technology.
This establishes a call to action amongst employers and older workers to bridge
this gap.

Despite all the positive survey responses, older workers
remain a relatively untouched talent pool. The reason behind this becomes more
apparent when looking at the perceptions of age related discrimination.
Although only 29% of employers feel age discrimination is a problem in their
industry, 58% of older workers reported they have experienced age discrimination
in the past five years. In addition 61% of all workers say they have witnessed
it over that time period. The disparity between perception and experience
indicates that age related bias is a problem, and needs to be addressed.

These observations highlight a potential disconnect and
suggest older workers are underutilised by many businesses, despite the more
positive rhetoric. This is something that will need to change if businesses are
to be properly prepared for the projected changes in workforce composition.

Employers needed to avoid the potential for age bias. They
should be proactive in helping line and hiring managers more effectively engage
with older workers, consider different work patterns or different types of workplace
contribution.

Equally, while much is said about employer’s responsibility,
there are also challenges for the older worker who may need to learn to adapt their
careers to a changing workplace. The observation of a number of employers that
older workers expectations, particularly around salary, were too high, suggest the
older-worker may also need to re-calibrate linear career expectations and be
mindful of different ways or patterns of working.

The bottom line is that New
Zealand businesses need to prepare for the impacts of an ageing workforce. With
the demographics of the workforce shifting, the talent pool of older workers can
be a great resource for many industries looking to address their talent
shortages. However, with certain myths still perpetuated, and age related
discrimination prevalent in the workplace, employers may realise there are
problems that need to be solved now, if they are to get the best out of the
workforce in the future.

If you’d like to read more
of our research on the ageing workforce, click
here for our full whitepaper on the topic.

Greg McAllister|General Manager New Zealand

Greg leads the NZ business and the South Island team from his home town in Canterbury. He is responsible for all aspects of the business across all of the NZ recruitment and staffing services brands. He is actively involved in senior appointments, driving business development and strategic relationships across the country. Greg brings the experience of over 20 years in human resource management and line management across a variety of sectors including Banking and Finance, Investments, Telecommunications, Health and Consulting. Prior to joining OCG he worked for a leading NZ Bank as General Manager Human Resources, Head of its Investments and KiwiSaver business and its Regional Relationship Banking teams. He is an avid long distance cyclist, is passionate about Canterbury and its rebuild